Research Draft: What are the factors that contribute, or lead, to homelessness and how services such as food and clothing banks service people currently living on the street. What is Homelessness?
It is an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Homelessness in America is at an all-time high. The economy is going downhill and many people are suffering to make ends meet. Those who are not able to pay rent or mortgage end up on the streets of America. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness data report, a national organization dedicated to ending homelessness in America, “there were 578,424 people who were experiencing homelessness” on a single night in January. There are more children, veterans,
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They are the children who ran away from abusive households. They are veterans with and without disabilities. The homeless people of America are very diverse from all walks of life, no one is safe from being homeless as it affects the elderly, young adults, teenagers, and even babies. According to studentsagainsthunger.org, every year more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness and 35% of the homeless population are people with children. Though the homelessness can hit anyone, there are groups that are becoming homeless at a faster rate than anyone else and that is families with children. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “23% of all homeless people were from families with children in 2007”. In some US cities it has risen by 15% and after the recession in 2009, even more people became homeless after they were laid off from their jobs and others lost their …show more content…
There are food and cash assistance, affordable housing, and health counseling in every city to help combat homelessness and poverty. Services such as clothing drives, food pantries, and free healthcare clinics benefit the homeless tremendously. Clothing drives provide clothes and shoes for the homeless. Those who cannot afford to buy anything can get clothes for free. Winters are when they need lots of thick clothing, especially socks and gloves so they can keep their hands and feet warm. They can either get them for cheap at the Salvation Army stores or get them for free at clothing drives. Providing food is very important to the homeless. Some go days without eating and soup kitchens and food pantries help out a great deal. They provide meals and canned foods to the poor and homeless. There are lots of food banks that provide fresh, nutritious meals to adults and children throughout the day and year. Free clinics also play a very important role for the homeless. Since homeless people most likely do not have health insurance, they are able to go to a free clinic in their neighborhood for physical and mental health check-ups, to get prescriptions, and to make sure their health is in good
Homelessness is a social issue that has been overlooked for too long. It can be observed in many states worldwide. The rising population of homeless people affects those characterized as homeless, their families subjected to the lifestyle, and the communities where homelessness exists. There are many solutions but only a few will be discussed. Improving existing shelters and building new shelters are general solutions. More in depth solutions within the shelters include programs that assist the homeless with opportunities for re-entry into the community. I would first like to discuss reasons why this issue should be looked into and conclude with recommendations.
The idea of homelessness is not an effortlessly characterized term. While the normal individual comprehends the essential thought of vagrancy, analysts in the sociological field have connected conflicting definitions to the idea of homelessness, justifiably so as the thought includes a measurement more exhaustive than a peculiar meaning of a single person without living arrangement. Homelessness embodies a continuum running from the nonappearance of a changeless safe house to poor living courses of action and lodging conditions. As per Wolch et al. (1988), homelessness is not an unexpected experience rather it is the zenith of a long procedure of investment hardship, disconnection, and social disengagement that has influenced a singular or family. Furthermore, states of vagrancy may come in fluctuating structures, for example, road habitation, makeshift home in safe houses, or help from administration associations, for example, soup kitchens and the Salvation Army. Homeless is characterized as those regularly poor and, once in a while, rationally sick individuals who are unable to uphold a spot to live and, subsequently, regularly may rest in boulevards, parks, and so forth (Kenyon 1991).
The homeless population is growing in America. There are more and more Americans living in boxes, sleeping on park benches and panhandling on the streets each day. These people tend to make us, the non-homeless, feel uncomfortable and unsafe. They are also placing increasing stress on the nation's economy. In short, the homeless are a burden on the rest of society.
Education is also a fundamental thing that people need to gain. It helps in many aspects. Financing Employment Programs for Homeless People reported that the first aspect, it helps in making the society more educated instead of making half of them educated. This will help the homeless people with the mental health by making use their effort on things that will benefit them in the future. According to Huffpost Impact in the subject of Library Offers Homeless People Mental Health Services, and Its Work, mentioned that they have done blood tests on some homeless people, and they found that some of them have higher blood pressure that could harm their lives (Libraries are often the safest place for homeless people, 2016). Also, Esguerra has met with a homeless person and found that this person was doing a full clinical assessment. Then she has shown the homeless person colleagues at the San Francisco homeless outreach team, and then they have provided case management and housing. According to the article, San Francisco has about 6,600 homeless people has started something trend. City Lab (2016) indicated that homeless visitors receive various types of support in different libraries. Esguerra added that the programs are “ Humanizing homelessness throughout the library, and the library becomes a sanctuary for many of the patrons and our program helps them to feel safe
Family homelessness is a fairly new social problem in America. Beginning in the early 1980’s, families with children have become the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
McKinney Act, 42 U.S.C 11301. Et seq. 1994). There are facts and myths the haunts our displaced citizens, as a result of these belief the homeless youth population as has been stereotype and/or ostracized based on their circumstances. We will explore these myths to alleviate the misbelief or misunderstanding of this exclusive population of communal and societal members. There is a misconception that the homeless youth are solely blamable for their own circumstance. The fact is many homeless individuals have survived as victims of violence, child abuse, natural disasters, deficiency in employment opportunities and/or the insufficiency of affordable healthcare. Some are unemployed, mentally or physically ill, and many are
Homeless situations are a concern because there are a number of homeless children in the United States and continues to rise (McDaniel, 2012). Homeless people struggle to survive because they live in housing that is not livable or does not have a home and therefore, they live in cardboard boxes, in the alley, or wherever they can find shelter. In reality, this affects the ability for a
“3.5 million people will experience homelessness in a given year,”(Los Angeles Homeless Services). This shocking number is one of the sad truths in today’s society. Homelessness is caused by a wide range of things including financial issues. The life of a homeless person is hard and comes with set-backs and the constant need to overcome them. Homeless people go through many challenges in surviving without a home. They can suffer from health issues, hunger, and poor emotional well-being.
Many believe that a common thread among the homeless is a lack of permanent and stable housing. But beyond that, the factors leading to homelessness and the services that are needed are unique according to the individual. To put them into one general category ? the homeless- suggests that people are homeless for similar reasons and therefore a single solution is the answer. Every homeless person shares the basic needs of affordable housing, adequate incomes and attainable healthcare. But a wide range of other unmet needs cause some people to become or remain homeless which include drug treatment, employment training, transportation, childcare and mental health services (Center 8.)
Homeless people come from many different backgrounds. Gender is the first demographic to consider. According to many different studies, most of single homeless adults are men who “make up slightly more than 51 percent of the total homeless population, while single women comprised about 17 percent” (McNamara 1027). However, in homeless families, single female parents make up approximately 90% (Markos and Lima). Second demographic to consider is age. Everyone including children can become homeless because of different cases. From the National Coalition for the Homeless, “children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population, 25% of homeless were ages 25 to 34; the same study found percentages of homeless persons aged 55 to 64 at 6%” (qtd. National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). By a study in 2002 from t...
Many people debate on weather homeless people should receive guidance or just be abandoned. Do homeless people deserve our service and to be supported, or are they just lazy individuals trying to take advantage of people? Homelessness is a growing dispute in cities. It has became an extensive problem for the community. Homelessness can not and should not be ignored. The number of homeless people in the United States is quickly growing. It seems like no one cares to help them. Even our heroes like police officers show no sympathy towards the homeless. “Homeless people appeared on the streets of Bucharest in 1990. Since then, their number and the problems created by this phenomenon have steadily increased in all major
...is to understand the factors that lead people into homelessness, that keep them homeless, and how they can recover from homelessness. Advocates for the homeless have proposed policies range from taking preventative measures, such as making housing and health care affordable, to policies that deal with individuals that are already homeless, such as rapid rehousing and redefining what it means to be homeless. Although many of the experts disagree on how the homeless epidemic should be handled, many acknowledge that the federal government plays an inexpendable role in helping the homeless. Homelessness is, obviously, a complex issue, but like all difficult issues it must be undertaken. It has become clear that homelessness is not something that will eradicate itself given time, homelessness will continue to grow and evolve unless an outside force stops it in its tracks.
Homelessness is a vast predicament in America and around the world. It is severely overlooked as people don’t really think of homelessness as real world problem. However, there have been ways that people have tried to fix the problem. They have come up with homeless shelters, emergency shelters, food banks and soup kitchens. These solutions have limitations though, which will hopefully come to an end.
The many causes of the homelessness issue has arisen from global conflict, unemployment increase, education tuition costs rising, and the increase of poverty. Homelessness is affecting all ages, ethnicities, and religions striking in both urban and rural communities. “Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars.”
Although homelessness is widespread and almost next to the catastrophic global hunger problems, it can be brought under control and its effect reduced to a greater percentage. By simply tracking the root causes of low wages and the lack of affordable housing as well as improving other support systems like housing vouchers and health care, homelessness can be solved.